Byrd Gives Up On Building Navy Clock

Other news to note - Washington

April 17, 1993

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has pulled the plug on a $7 million atomic clock he ordered the Navy to build in his home state of West Virginia. Navy officials had protested that the clock - designed to duplicate an instrument at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington and a backup clock in Florida - was unneeded. ''I have recommended that the Navy immediately take steps to stop this project,'' Byrd, D-W.Va., said in a statement that was released to West Virginia reporters late Thursday and was made available to other reporters Friday. The master clocks, which use vibrating atoms to keep time within one-billionth of a second, are vital for synchronizing everything from warships' movements to bank transfers. Byrd had earlier pushed aside Navy objections to building the clock, which would have created seven jobs.